Edit:
More programers should lean hacking techniques, then they will learn how to write more secure code.

More people should test the security of systems that we rely on to help stop the nefarious types running riot...and law makers should recognise the value of 'ethical' hackers and not treat them like criminals.

People take things to seriously. Just because people hack doesn't mean they're corrupt, what if they work for an AV company or if they are payed to hack into a database so the creator can fix problems?

Umm giblit you are totally misinformed if you believe there is no such thing as a ethical hacker...

You have to realize companies and people DO hire hackers to try and break into their software or sever or whatever so that they know where the security flaws are. It is better to have someone you hired to hack into your system and find the flaws then to have a blackhat (Malicious Cracker) hack into your system and steal the data because you didn't test it out properly.

Companies like Microsoft get a lot of their information about their security vulnerabilities from this type of thing. A lot of 0-days have been found by paid pen testers. If they didn't use them there would be a lot more security concerns then there is now.

You are saying anyone that knows about computer security is a malicious person which is just plain false. You are falling for the typical media stereotype that everyone that "hacks" is a bad person. Which is just not true.

What Fredbill is saying is correct (wow never thought I would say that ;p) and is actually very common. So before you discount what he says I suggest you do some research on it.

@BHXSpecter I get your point, but that is not the ethical hacker's fault. If you work for a nuclear research company and they tell you the government has given orders for a new atomic bomb, meanwhile the bomb is for the boss' terrorist attack. It is not the fault of the engineers/researchers.

Problem is that the world doesn't see it that way. The scientists who were forced to help Adolf Hitler during WWII were arrested and prosecuted for war crimes just like the ones that willingly helped them. While I agree it isn't their fault, the law doesn't see it that way, as you would be an accessory to the crime. Even at the one newspaper company that was tapping government official lines, the owner got in trouble, but so did several under him as accessories just because they found out and said nothing due to being scared of losing their job.

Fredbill30 wrote:

People take things to seriously. Just because people hack doesn't mean they're corrupt, what if they work for an AV company or if they are payed to hack into a database so the creator can fix problems?

Never said the hacker was corrupt. Was just pointing out, and we will use your example, the company can tell you that you are just hacking their database, but can lie and actually have you hacking into a different company's database. The hacker doesn't have to be corrupt, but the company owner could be and the hacker would still get in trouble along with the company he was working for.

Ethical people can work for corrupt companies, but sadly they will get in trouble if they are in the right position. Our laws need some serious work to help people like this because to many people get in trouble (usually to a lesser extent) for things they normally had no idea was happening.

@BHXSpecter I do not see how you missed the logical flaw in your argument. The scientists who were "forced" to help Hitler, knew what they were doing. Yes, they would have been killed if they didn't, but they knew what they were doing. If they hadn't they would not have been charged.

It would then be like charging all the Germans who knew nothing for not doing anything to stop the other Germans.

@BHXSpecter
It would be trivial for the tester to verify his/her target.

Also, aside from maybe some doctors/virologists/etc experimenting on prisoners I've never heard of German scientists being charged with anything, let alone war crimes. Most were taken by the US, UK, or Russia to work in their field there.

Anyways here is a little guide sam dhillon on what you should learn to be a Ethical Hacker (Also called pen tester).

1) You must have dedication. Just like with programming you need to stick with it and contribute a good amount of time to learning it. It won't come over night

2) You will have to know how "Malicious people work". In order to be able to do pen testing you have to know everything that the Malicious person knows.

3) Obviously learn a programming language or three.

4) Know how the computer works. You must be willing to learn both hardware and software and be able to know how most of it works.

5) To be honest you must get off of Windows and move to Linux. Windows will be just way to restrictive for this type of thing. I would highly highly recommend downloading BackTrack http://www.backtrack-linux.org/. That is the all time best for pen testing I have found.

6) Get Certified. Search google for words like "CEH", "OSCP", or even just "security certifications". It will help greatly if you want to do this for your job.

7) Join pen testing forums, play around with your computer, join newsgroups about computers, read anything about technology and just learn and do. That is all you can do really. Read about something then test it out.

Operation Paperclip was the codename under which the US intelligence and military services extricated scientists from Germany, during and after the final stages of World War II. The project was originally called Operation Overcast.

However, Some scientists did face war crimes trials so you are both correct to some degree.

I think for being a hacker you need first to fully know the language the program you want to hack is and how it works so that you can hack it
hacking is somehow easy as it seems, because when I learned C++ I found that making viruses is the easiest things I can do